Alaska Man Stunned By Polar Bear He Killed Far From Animals’ Range
Polar bears’ Alaska range is rather limited, according to this Alaska Department of Fish and Game map:
Conservation group Polar Bears International says the bears do have a tendency to leave their habitat:
“Scientists believe that most polar bears limit travel to home ranges of a few hundred miles. However, they know of one satellite-tracked female that trekked 4,796 kilometers —from Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay to Greenland to Canada’s Ellesmere Island and back to Greenland.”
Still, it’s rare in Alaska to see polar bears away from where you can usually spot them: In the remore areas of the northern tip of the state. So it’s understandable that an Alaska man was shocked to see a polar bear – considered one of the world’s most dangerous predators – attempting to enter his cabin. Here’s more on an incident that left the bear dead from the Associated Press via the Anchorage Daily News:
“My dog barked, and the bear was on my back, right behind me. And I jumped back inside, grabbed my rifle,” Hollandsworth said. “By time I got turned around, it was heading for the door, the open door. Wanted to come in. So they got shot point-blank right there at the doorstep.” …
The bear was shot more than 100 miles south of the Beaufort Sea coastline. He said the animals usually stay within a few miles of the coast, except for some pregnant females who may go farther inland to build dens.
Regehr said it’s hard to say why a bear wandered so far from its range.
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